This Month in Boys - January 2014

John Paul

-was only slightly tempted at the $20 offer to potty train his baby brother. His motivation lasted about 3 hours. (I fully intend on trying this strategy again when he is older should there be future need. Seriously, how worth it would that be??)

-finished fourth in his first participation in the homeschool National Geographic GeoBee for the 4th-8th graders!

-asked to become an altar server. The jury is out on whether we think he's ready...

-has been working on building a laser from the scraps of a broken CD player that I let him go to town on.

-along with Michael helped decorate our church for Christmas. It was really awesome to see my boys serving like that and helping Father place the poinsettias.

-has been asking to get a job.

-is pretty sure he's beginning to grow a mustache.

-predicts that this year will include him receiving the long coveted bee bee gun.

Michael

-combined his Advent earnings with John Paul to buy a fruit tree for the poor.

-is incredibly excited to visit the Catacombs.

-decided "I know what I'm going to make out of Legos today - St. Peter's Basilica!"

-has also decided he would like to be a "famous artist" someday and in fact, "I already AM an artist!"

-is planning a Lord of the Rings party for himself despite the fact that he's never actually read the books and only knows the characters and story through John Paul's detailed recollections.

-was pure joy during Christmas. I loved the excitement when he leaned in to whisper right before Christmas Eve Mass began, "Mama, it's almost Christmas!!"

-is my daily egg fetcher.

-has asked to begin reading Mistmantle with me.

-is this close to being done with 1st grade math and the First Language Lessons 1 book.

-predicts that this year will include him receiving his First Holy Communion from the pope!!

David

-is very concerned about the "picket pocketers" in Rome. He decided that we should all wear personal rearview mirrors while we are there and has requested to bring a few zip ties to tie up any offending picket pockers. (Michael's in charge of tackling.)

-used his Advent earnings to buy a kerosene stove for the poor.

-says "savor" when he means save. As in "Mama, can we please savor this Lego castle for tomorrow?"

-declared that "the best way to tell if someone is alive is to tickle them. Then you know."

-some time after a great nap, said "Mama? I want to do another chore." Sleep changes everything, people. E-ver-y-thing.

-has been loving listening to the Holy Heroes saint stories on "the personal CD player".

-can. not. sit. still. during prayer time.

-really has been a delight since resuming the afternoon nap routine. He's even been taking some two to three hour ones!

-thinks I'm a "really good taco folder".

-would like a "Lego set of the catacombs". Get on that, Lego.

-predicts that this year will include him finally receiving that tractor for his birthday.

Luke

-SINGS! It is the sweetest thing in the world to hear him "sing". His personal favorites lately are "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (English and Latin, of course), "Silent Night", and "Joy to the World". And he'll tell you which one he wants you to sing with him.

-does his own "math" by scribbling in an old math workbook.

-is finally starting to say some intelligible words!

-one of which is "me, me, me!" anytime he wants to do something himself. He has been all about helping with the chores lately, which is pretty darn adorable.

-is cutting his two year molars. Thank God it hasn't been as bad as the others!

-still does his sign for milk when he wants to nurse and looks like a little crab with his pincer claws.

-is sleeping through the night. Again. Yay! :)

-predicts that this year will include sooner rather than later that potty training thing that Mama keeps talking about.

20 comments

Love these, as always! Re: John Paul, if you wait too long, you might have to pay him more for toilet training duty. Just sayin'. and Re: Luke - Clare has also been singing O Come O Come Emmanuel in Latin, so I think we should contact a record company and get these kids a contract :) Or at least sign them up for America's Got Talent ;)

I know...we're torn. A little bit about his ability to focus and more about the less than optimal training and liturgical form at our parish. Did it help your kids focus more or love the liturgy more? I'd love to hear more people's experiences with serving!

My boys had great training and for the first year, were given lesser jobs in an effort just to let them feel comfortable up there, and know what they were supposed to do. When it came time for them to do the "real" jobs, they were so eager! They definitely focus on the whole Mass better when they are up on the altar and not being distracted in the pew by their baby brother. My John-Paul even "pulled someone over" a couple weeks ago when the person didn't consume Our Lord right away. I was so proud of him, especially since he is a shy guy!

That is so cool. Sigh...I wish our parish was a bit more like that. The altar servers don't do any of the "extras" like help with Communion or the Gospel. I guess I should talk to our pastor, huh? I'm so bad with that.

I love reading about your wonderful family! What great guys you have in your household. :) I just wanted to let you know that I nominated your blog for Bonnie's Sheen awards because I just love your blog that much! I'm sure you would have been nominated by others anyway (like last year) but I thought I would just let you know what an inspiration and blessing you have been to me personally. This is why I read blogs... right here. Thank you for your beautiful writing and for pursuing God's will with such faithfulness and love!

Really encourage you to go ahead with altar serving now. we worry, they figit in the seats etc etc but up on the altar as good as gold. My big boys have just started training their little brother he's only 7.6yr old I was going to wait another 6 mths. He figits, etc but the boys were keen to all serve together, to do this before oldest son is much older (he's 18 now) and he totally surprised me. This is a totally anxious kid who I have to still walk onto the soccer field some days! and yet up he went, stood tall, knelt tall, all the older ladies in church came up and congratulated him after. Here's an after snaphttp://sevenlittleaustralians.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/7-quick-takes-friday-vol-179.html

Great pictures and stories. So who do we start contacting so Michael can receive communion from the Pope? Does Leggo know there is a market for Vatican related sets? Wish there was an audio side to the blog so I could hear Luke's singing. Another thought about JP being an altar server - Will his mom have a harder time focusing with him up on the altar? Grandma in Chicago

Hi Mary! I do so enjoy reading your blog--about your family and reflections on the Faith. Found your blog through Mary Wilkerson. When you wrote about Michael's First Holy Communion I immediately thought of this post I read on Kendra's blog recently. http://www.catholicallyear.com/2013/02/god-bless-pope-benedict-xvi-and-his.htmlExcited you are making the trip to Rome. I myself am trying to go--the canonization is on my birthday and I'm a huge lover/fan of JP2! God bless you!

Hi Rebecca! Yes, I saw their story and talked a little bit about it with Kendra. How amazing are those pictures?!? I'm not sure it will happen since it'll be Easter and the canonization but we're praying! Michael even wrote a letter to Pope Francis! Hey, if you happen to see us amongst the millions of people, please say hi!

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